Accountant
"Our organisation is very innovative and technology focused so we have been utilising email to distribute our monthly newsletter for several years now. Since using the UTN web based facility we now have more control over this marketing strategy. We are delighted that at last we have the advantage of really knowing who reads our newsletter. We now have three different newsletter templates that we use for different promotional strategies. Its great and it really works!"
Kevin Nicol - CEO of Quill Group
Mortgage broker
"I have been a technoid for the past 5 years and I have seen to use or explored using most of the major newsletter development programs on the web. I have never ever and I mean never found or witnessed a program with such simplicities and usefulness. I am Using The Net's biggest fan."
Brett Figueora - CEO of High Octane Loan Originator
Peak Body
"I found Using the Net's "create a newsletter" process very straightforward. In no time at all I was able to transform my raw text and images into a professional-looking publication. Then, within seconds of hitting the "send" button the first of the stats came in. It was very helpful (and somewhat addictive) to keep an eye on how many recipients had opened the newsletter and which articles perked their interest. The feedback from readers since the first issue was distributed has also been extremely positive. A number have already expressed interest in setting up similar html publications."
Ben Caddaye - editorial officer Law Council
Business Support
"We needed a quick and easy way to get regular news to our subscribers and to potential clients. Using The Net has provided us with an easy-to-use resource that allows us to send our enews quickly with the added benefit of tracking whether subscribers were clicking through to our web-site."
Peter Towers - Business Adviser ESS BizTools
Legal Firm
"The ability to be able to track your readership through the logging system at Using the Net is very exciting for us from a marketing perspective. It's a real time measurement of whether we're connecting with our readership, and we avoid wasting time using the traditional "trial and error" approach."
Paul Stone - Business Development Manager Shine Lawyers
Accommodation provider
"Using the Net got our newsletter up and running very quickly. I found Derek and his crew very helpful in steering me through the design, creating an email list and producing our first newsletter.Their ongoing assistance in ensuring the newsletter continues to create interest amongst our readers and regular suggestions is appreciated"
Tony Allison - Manager Bendles Cottages

Sometimes business people baulk at using newsletter technology because they are not sure they can come up with regular newsletter content. However it works the other way because once you have the technology in place you can use it for anything:

• new product release
  
• breaking industry news
  
• opening a new store
  
• listings - consumer or industry events
  
• calendar reminders
  
• photos from events
  
• change of website and so on

As I say to business owners - you could be in a sales meeting on a Monday morning come up with an idea - send it out before the end of play on Monday and by Wednesday afternoon have a detailed analysis of what interest it created amongst your clientele. Quick, cost-effective and with accurate market intelligence - what other form of marketing works like this?

Permission is the important first step in building a relationship with subscribers. But it’s no longer enough. You need to be relevant. Because if you're not relevant, you'll probably be deleted - maybe never to be opened in the future either. Your challenge is to have your email stand out amongst the other emails your subscribers are receiving. Here are some ideas:

Encourage only your target audience to subscribe. Rather then hedging your bets by saying ‘Receive our regular newsletter’, hoping you’ll get a quantity of subscribers, think quality versus quantity. Tell people very clearly who, what, where, when and why you'll be contacting them, and then let them make an informed decision to sign up.

'How relevant is it?' answers the frequency question. How frequently should you send your emails? It depends. There is a growing trend away from rigid monthly mailing schedules, and instead publishing when your company has something relevant to say. If it’s timely then you need to send it, if it doesn’t relate to everyone on your list, then you need to consider sending it only to the appropriate subscribers.

Relevance makes it personalised. A 'Dear Bob' appended to the top of a general mailing is not effective personalisation. Personal elements such as addressing the subscriber by name should be used when it really matters in the context of the mailing. It is more important to tailor the content to each reader, because this makes it both personal and relevant.

Segment and tailor emails. Use information you have in your database, such as purchase history, geographic location, etc, to split out your lists.

Send. Track. Analyse. Change. Repeat. This should be your mantra – if your company does the ‘load and send’ style campaigns, you will see a downward spiral of activity and results. An important part of the email marketing cycle is to review the information gathered from a campaign, and make changes based on the information for the next mailing.